Harold rimmkr



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. H. RIMMER.

PRGGESS 0F PURIPYING FERRIG GARBIDE.

No. 399,082. Patented Mar. 5, 1889.

i fw. 2.

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. RIMMER.

PROCESS of' PURIFYING PBRRIG GARBIDB.

No. 399,082. Patented Mar. 5, 889.

111,111,111:yglllyzllylllllll illln'rrn` @rares Parent @trincee llAllOLl) lllllllllt, (.)li SNSIDE, ULVERSTON, COVNTY Oli" LANCASTER, EN GLAND.

PROCESS OF PURlFYING FERRIC CARBlDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,082, dated March 5, 1889.

Application letl November l, 1888. Serial No. 289,751. (No model.) Patented in England .Tune l0, 1887, N 8,357.

To @ZZ 10710711. it 'muy concern..-

Be it known that I, ll'A'RoLD RIMMER, a subject et" the Queen et Great 'l'lritain and Ireland, residing .at Sansidc,Ulversttm, in the county ol.' Lancaster, England, have invented new and nset'nl Improvements in the Manufacture ot' Material for Purifying and Filtering; lYater, Saecharine and Alcoholic and other Fluids, (for which l have obtained pat' ent in Great Britain, No. S, dated June l0, lSbT,) ot' which the followingl is a speciication.

This invention relates to the production ot' a` Yfiltering and purifying material known as magnetic carbide of iron from iron ores, which are composed chiefly ot iron and oxyge1i-na1nely, those known as liematite ores and equivalent ores, including magnetic, sl'ieeulan7 and spathie ores.

`llitlierto it has heen proposed to make the puri tying` and filtering; material termed magnetic carbide of.' iron from iron ores, but more particularly from hematite ores, specular iron ore, chalyhitef and spathose ores. ,lt has, however, been found in practice that only a particular kind or kinds ot' such orcs are applicable for the manufacture of the magnetic carbide" for purifying waiter or saccharine and aleoln il ie liquors. These kinds consist, suhstantially, olf pure oxide oli' ironsuch as that known kidney ore7 oi the hematite class. lllis particularkind olpure ore exists in very Small and irregularly-deposited quantities, and consequently through the diilicullies in the way ol obtaining' theA special kinds-nainel v, the pure ores the quantity ol' purifying' material available is proporiionately small. lhave vfound thatthe cause which renders the ordinary hematite (such as red htmiatitc) and equivalent ores unapplieahle for use or treatmentin the heretofore-known processes Yfor making magnetic carbide applicable tor purifyingwater, saceharne and alcoholic liquors is thepresenec in them ot certain impurities, that these impu ritics are ehielly lime, nnignesia, phosl'ihorus, and sulphur7 and that they are not removed bythe treatment according lo the said known processes.

New this invention consists in the manufacture or productionirom ironv ores-such as the ordinary hematite and equivalent ores containing` the said impurities or any ot them-of the magnetic carbide of iron, as hereinafter set forth.

According to this invention l firsttreat such ores substantially as heretofore, and afterward remove or render negative the impurities that are Vininiical to lnirieation of water by treatingthe magnetic carbide with an acid purifying process.

Generallystated, the whole process is as fol,- lows: The ore, being ground or broken into small pieces, the largest ot' which will pass a quarter-inch sieve, and mixed with granulated carbon-such as coke-is heated in a closed receptacle or chamber, such as a inutile. The temperature oi' the muttle must be Such as will effect the required union ot' the carbon with the oxide olf iromhut not great enough to reduce the ore to the metallie state. Durin@y the time the mixture is subjected. to this treatment it is preferably stirred or raked about hy su itahlc im plcm ents lor the purpose of making' the treatmcntof the whole mass of the material equal and to facilitate and make the process more rapid. To expel the air or to neutralize the deterrent act-ion of the air present in the muftle or chamber, 'I' may Vinject steam into the mut'le, and so torce outmost of the air; or the same object may he obtained hy adding' to the mixture ol? ore and carbon (col-Le) a` little wood or sawdust. The ore first reduced to a lower oxide. The carbon then combines with it, and the ore becomes converted to mag'- netic carbide ot iron. It is then taken from the inutile and cooled in' water, so as to prevent oxidation takine'place, This is conveniently done hy taking;` the hot material upon harrows or trucksy and tipping it into tanks or vessels containingl water. The material then treated with au acid to remove almesaid impurities. This is carried out hy subjecting the material to, preterahly, hydrochloric acid conveyed in water in which the material is placed, (rneli'erahly in the cooling" tanks or vessels,) and this process is elli'ectaially aceelm'ated hy causing the liquor to he circulated over and about the material. For this purpose a steam injector or pump may he suitably used. 'lhe time taken `for the solution c? the impurities out ot' the carbide depends upon the strength of the acid liquor andthe amount of thc'impurities .in the material. After this treatment the inaterial, (magnetic carbide of iron,) beingcleared of impurities, constitutes a material particularly applicable for purifying and filtering drinking-water5 but it is also applicable for purifying saccharine and alcoholic liquors and gases.

To carry out the said process of the manufacture of the material above described, I employ a muffle. The muffle is preferably of such a size that several tons may be treated in it at one operation, and is in the form of an inelosed long shallow chamber, on one or both sides of which a number of apertures are provided, through which the raking or stirring implements above described may be passed and worked. Upon the roof of the chamber there are provided apertures having hoppers, through which the material is introduced into the inutile, and these are arranged and disposed to effect a distribution of the material over the fioor of the chamber. The heating of the walls of the chamberis effected by gas `generated in a furnace in connection with the chamber, and the gases and products of combustion are conveyed by suitable fiues or ducts surrounding or partly surrounding the chamber.

Having thus specified generally the nature, object, and effects of my invention, its description will now be proceeded with in reference to the drawings by way of explaining more fully the nature, objects, and effects of my invention.

The drawings and the description of them set forth together a special construction of muie and drying-bed designed on the lines 1 already generally defined for use in carrying out the process of producing the filtering matei-iai, the method of which has been above explained.

In the drawings, Figure l shows in sectional elevation the muffie. Fig. 2 shows a plan of the muftie, being a section in the horizontal plane at the line marked X X in Fig. l, and also shows a plan of the drying-bed. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the muffie and drying-bed, taken in the vertical plane at the line marked Y Y in Fig. i?. Fig. 4 shows a plan of the mufiie andthe tanks in which the acid purifying process is carried on.

Vith reference to the drawings, a designates the chamber of the muffie; Z), the gasproducing furnace, having a secondary airsupply duct, b; c, an upper flue; d, the lower fines, and c the passage communicating between such fiues and the drying-bed f.

g are the feed-hoppers,provided with sliding doors g; 7L, the stirring-d oors; i', drying-plates, and j a inurow-platform.

k .represents the lfloor-plates of the dryingbed f.

m are the fines of the drying-bed f, and n the chimney-'tine for carrying oft' the waste gases.

0 are the cooling and acid tanks.

The chamber a of this example is about thirty feet long and eleven feet wide. It is therefore evident that the quantity of material capable of being treated at one time is considerable. If the material is supplied evenly over the iioor lof the chamber to a depth of about four to five inches, and this is a convenient depth of material, the weight of the charge would be about five tons.

The mode of operation of performing the portion of the process according to my invention relating to the apparatus illustrated in Figs. l to 3 and just described is as follows: The chamber a, in which the material is treated, is heated by the gases of combustion from the furnace b, which is of the well-known gas-producing type. The gases first pass over and heat the crown of the chamber a through the flue c, heating at the same time the drying-plates At the end of the chamber a the gases descend and pass beneath the fioor of the chamber a through the fines d and also heat it. The fiues, it will be seen,lie between the division-walls d', employed to support the chamber (a) gfioor. From the opposite end of the fines d the gases pass by the passage e to the drying-bed f, which will be hereinafter explained. Thus by the heat above and below the chamber u it is brought up to the required temperature before introducing the material to be treated init. Then, the ore being broken or ground into small pieces and mixed with about one-quarter of its weight of granulated carbon-such as coke-and about five per cent., by weight, of sawdust or wood, l open the slides g', and then feed the material into the several hopper-s g, through which it fallsonto the fioor of the chamber c. The obj ect of the sawdust or wood is to either expel the air from the chamber or to neutralize the deterrent action air would have upon the process of converting the ore to the carbide. A similar effect may, however, be produced by introducing steam to the chamber; but for mechanical :reasons I prefer to use sawdust.

The temperature at which the union of the carbon and the oxide practically commences and takes place is about that equivalent to or denoted by a clear cherry-red color, and

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the heat of the material having arrived at this y point is maintained there for about two hours. Having been so subjected, the material will have become practically all converted to magnetic carbide, and this stage of the process is then complete. In this treatment of the ore and prior to the union of the carbon with the ore it is partially reduced-namely, from Fe203 to Fe304; but, as previously stated, its reduction to a metallic state must not be allowed.

During the treatment just described the ore, carbon, and sawdust are mechanically mixed by raking and stirring them about with suitable implements. The doors 7L, provided in the side of the chamber c, beyond being those through which the material when finished is discharged, also serve as the means bv ,which the implements may be introduced and Worked. The etfect of the stirring is that the Whole mass of material is equally treated, the combining of the carbon and iron oxide is facilitated, and the process is carried out in less time than would be otherwise occupied.

The nextI chief stage of the process is the purification of the carbide thus made; but this treatment is preferably carried on in further minor or sub processes. The first of these consists in taking the materialnow magnetic carbidefrom the chamber (l and eool a The Water used for the cooling will, of course, be raised considerably in temperature, and in order to use as little acid g i withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of in the acid purifying sub-process as possible I draw ol'f the Water from the tanks o preparatory to such sub-process. The next step or stage of the process consists in subjecting' the material to acid for removing its impurities,

which, as already stated, consist ehiefl y of lime, maguesia, phosphorus, and sulphur. This is effected by applying hydrochloric acid or sulphurie acid, but preferably the former, conveyed in water to the material. rllie modeof applying it consists in delivering` the acid over the material in the tanks o by a steam-injector or jet-pump of any known kind, the supply ol' the liquid being taken from the bottom of the tanks, thereby obtaining a circulation ot' the liquor, and so accelerating the process. The strength of the acid and the time taken for the solution of the impurities out of the carbide will necessarily depend upon the amount of impurities the carbide contains, but I have found that from one to two Tivaddle as the strength of the acid and from two to six hours subjection of the carbide to il' are, respectively, the practical limits of strength and time required to remove the abovc-named impurities from the carbide produced from the various qualities of ores I have treated.

After the material is treated with acid, as just described, it is preferably washed with water and then dried on the drying-plates L' or bedf. The Washing cleanses the material of acid, and the drying of the material reduces the weight and cost of carriage of it. The

Vmaterial (magnetic carbide of iron) thus deprived of its impurities constitutes a niaterial particularly applicable for purifying and filtering drinking-Water; but it is also applicable for purifying water generally, saccharine and alcoholic liquors, and other liquids or gases containing impurities-particuiarl organic-Which may be or are purified more or less by ordinary charcoal, iron, and other kinds of filtering or purifying material.

It is to be understood that Where I herein speak of removing impurities from the purifying material I do not mean that I render it absolutely free from the impurities to which I have referred, but merely that I render it y practically and reasonably free from such impurities. It is also to be understood that Where I speak of purifying water or other iiuid I refer to the removal of the impurities to a practical and reasonable degree,

Having noiv particularly described the nature, object, and purposes et.' my invention, I would state, in conclusion, that I have described ivhat I consider the l est mode of carrying out the manufacture of' magnetic carbide of iron for purifying and filtering water and other fluids involving my invention, and the one I prefer toemploy. I would have it understood, however, that I do not intend to limit my patent Vto the precise manner herein specified of effecting the results described or the exact apparatus illustrated, since various mere modifications of' these may be made my invention. On the other hand, I wish it E to be understood that I make no claim generally to the method of making magnetic ca rbide of iron by means of combining carbon f with iron ores; but

What I do claim in respect of the hereint described invention isl. In the manufacture of magnetic carbideof-iron filtering' material by reduciu iron ore through the medium of heat to a lower oxide and combining carbon therewith, the process herein described of purifying the magnetic carbide of iron, which consists in cooling the same and subjecting it to the action. of an acid conveyed by Water to remove the lime, magnesia, phosphorus, or other impurities, substantially as described.

2. In the manufacture of magnetic carbideof-iron filtering material. by reducing iron ore through the medium of heat to a lower oxide and combining carbon therewith, the process herein described of purifying the magnetic carbide of iron and removing the lime, magnesia, phosphorus, or other impurities therefrom, which consists in cooling the magneti(I carbide of iron in water and then subjecting it to the action of hydrochloric acid conveyed by Water, substantially as set forth.

The process herein described of mannfacturing magnetic carbide-of-iron filtering material, whichconsists in reducing iron ore by heat in a closed chamber to a loiver oxide and combining carbon therewith to convert the ore into magnetic carbide of iron,cooling the latter with Water, and while cool purifying the same and removing the lime, magnesia, phosphorus, or other impurity by subj ect ing the carbide of iron to the action of an acid conveyed by Water, substantially as set forth.

et. The process herein described. of manu- ICO IIO

facturiixg magnetic Carbide-o firo1i filtering` In testimony whereof l affix my Signature in material, which Consists in reducingthe iron presence of two witnesses. ore by heat to a lower oxide and combining carbon therewith to convert the ore into HAROLD RIMMER. 5 magnetic carbide of iro11,cooling the latter,

and their purifying it and removing the lime, \Vitnesses:

magnesia, phosphorus, or sulphur by sub-` STEPHEN HART JACKSON,

jcotiing the carbide of.' iron to the action of A'roaffrg/ Public, UZ/Uersfon.

hydrochloric acid conveyed by water, sub- VILLIAM S. BURNS,

ro staiiitizilly as set forth. 50 Sr'mfergae, Ulrersm@ Solicims Clerk. 

